Pumping apparatus



Feb. 25, 1936. w, o, LUM 2,032,291

PUMPING APPARATUS Filed July 26, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l m 5 flw iw a wO uvra A Tm w s,

by F u/w Feb. 25, 1936. w. o. LUM

PUMPING APPARATUS Filed July 26, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 OH Outletl'nvento'r" Walter Q Lum,

by yv gfimlm ls At GOT'h g.

Patented Feb. 25, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE General ElectricCompany, a

New York corporation of Application July 26, 1934, Serial No. 737,063

12 Claims.

The invention relates to pumping apparatus and provides improvementswhich are particularly advantageous in an equalized pressure oil and airpump and blower unit for oil burner such as described and claimed in myPatent No. 1,986,003 of January 1, 1935, although not necessarilylimited thereto.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improvedpump structure having intercommunicating passages, ports and surgechambers directly in the cylinder casing and end plates of the pump. Inthis way the various oil and air connections into and from the oil andair pressure equalizing tank enclosing the pump of my above patent maybe materially simplified and improved.

Other objects are to provide an improved sound and vibration suppressingmounting for the pumping unit and also to provide improved means forremovably sealing the oil and air pressure equalizing tank to the pumpstructure.

Still further objects are to combine an auto- I matic float valve formaintaining a constant oil level in the equalizing tank directly withthe pump structure itself; to provide an improved construction for therotor of the double blade rotary pump; to provide an improved strainerscreen mounting arrangement directly on the pump, and to provideimproved means for aligning the pump cylinder casing between the endplates.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an oilburner with the casing broken away to show the improved form of oil andair pump and blower unit embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is anenlarged plan view of the oil and air pump and blower unit; Fig. 3 is asectional view of the unit shown in Fig. 2 along the section lines 33;Fig. 4 is a cross section of the unit shown in Fig. 2 on the sectionline H with certain parts omitted for the sake of cleamess; Fig. 5 is ahorizontal cross section of the unit shown in Fig. 3 on the line 5-5showing more fully the relation of the several intercommunicatingpassages, ports and surge chambers formed in the pump structure; Fig. 6is a section of the unit shown in Fig. 2 on the line 66 showing the airinlet and surge chamber arrangement with certain parts omitted for thesake of clearness; Fig. '7 is a half section of the unit shown in Fig. 2on the line 'l'| showing more in detail the mounting arrangement for theblower, the motor and the unit itself.

The oil burner l shown in Fig. 1 is of the general type described andclaimed in the copendingapplication Serial No. 505,867, filed December31, 1930, by Aldo Macchi and assigned to the assignee of my presentinvention. Oil and air under pressure are supplied from the pump andblower unit II to the oil burner nozzle 2 which may be of the typedescribed and claimed in the copending application of Lum and Eaton,Serial No. 691,320, filed September 28, 1933, and assigned to the sameassignee. As shown, the pump and blower unit II is mounted on the top ofthe 10 boiler |3 under the removable hood M. The details of the improvednoise and vibration suppressing coiled spring mounting supports I 5 areshown in Fig. 7.

As indicated more clearly in Figs. 2 and 3, the equalized oil and airpumping and blower unit comprises the electric driving motor which ismounted directly upon the top of the rotary oil and air pump 2| with theblower 22 mounted above the motor. The vertical pump shaft 23 20 hassuitable bearings formed in the end plates 24 and 25 of the oil and airpump 2|. Shaft 23 carries the motor rotor 26, the pump rotor 27 and theblower rotor 28 so that all rotate together. The oil and air pressureequalizing tank 25 29 surrounds the pump 2| to receive oil and air underpressure therefrom. Tank 29 is removably sealed in position by theclamping ring 30. Ring 30 has four equi-spaced bosses 3| with holestherein so that ring 30 can be secured in position 30 by the clampingstuds 32 having nuts 33 carrying the coiled spring mounting supports 5as shown in Fig. '7.

The rotary pump cylinder casing 35 is clamped in position between thepump end plates 24 35 and 25 by means of three equispaced bolts 35 withample clearance around the bolts as indicated in Fig. 7. In ordertomaintain proper alignment the cylinder casing 35 is provided with twooppositely disposed lugs 31 which are spaced to slide along the guidepins 38 mounted in the upper end plate 24 of the pump. This permits thecylinder casing 35 to be adjusted into position between the end plates24 and 25 to provide a proper fluid-tight seal, as indicated at 39,between the cylinder wall and the pump rotor 21.

The rotary pump 2| is of the double vane type and serves to pump oilunder a vacuum, mix the oil with air and discharge the mixture underpressure into the pressure equalizing tank 29. Oil is supplied to thepump from a suitable reservoir (not shown) through the oil inlet pipe45. The oil passes from pipe into the passage 46 formed in the upper endplate 24 of he pump. A large mesh inlet oil strainer 41 is located in anenlarged portion of the passage 46.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the oil inlet passage 48 intersects theenlarged incoming oil surge chamber 48 and then extends intocommunication with the pump oil inlet port 49. The inlet oil surgechamber 68 is formed jointly by a large arcuate shaped passage providedin the wall of pump casing 35 which extends from the upper side to thebottom side thereof and a corresponding arcuate shaped groove or recessprovided in the upper plate 24 to register therewith. The pump oil inletport 49 also is in the form of an arcuate shaped groove in end plate 24which opens directly into the pump cylinder above the pump rotor 21.Thus the pump oil inlet port 49 l is normally closed by the upper faceof the pump rotor 21 which has a fluidtight seal with the upper endplates 24.

As more clearly shown inFig. 4 the upper surface of the pump rotor 21 isprovided with the two opposite grooves 59, one adjacent the trailingside of each of the two blades 5|. Each groove 50 is arrangedto-register with the oil inlet port 49 to admit oil into the evacuatedspace formed behind the corresponding blade after it passes thefluid-tight sea-i 39 between the pump rotor 21 and the cylinder wall.

Air is admitted to the pump 2 I, as shown in Fig. 6, through therestricted air inlet passage 55. This restricted passage 55 extends fromthe oil retaining greove 56 formed in upper side of the end plate 24areund the shaft 23 to the initial incoming air surge chamber 51. Theinitial air surge chamber 51 is formed jointly by enlarged registeringpassages in both the pump casing 35 and the end plate 24. The incomingair then passes through a second restricted opening 58 into a second airsurge chamber 59 which also is formed jointly by registering passages inthe pump casing 35 and the lower end plate 25. The second air surgechamber 59 has one portion underiying the bottom of the initial airsurge chamber 51 as shown in Fig. 6, and another portion which extendsentirely from end to endof the cylinder casing 35 in parallel relationwith the initial air surge chamber 51, as shown in Fig. 5. The mr isadmitted from the underlying portion of the second surge chamber 59 intothe pump cylinder through the air inlet port 58.

In operation the rotor 21 of the pump is driven in a counterclockwisedirection as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 5. As each of the blades 5|passes the fixed fluid tight seal indicated at 39, a vacuum is createdin the expanding space behind the blade. Thus as long as thecorresponding notch 59 registers with the oil inlet port 49, a quantityof bil is drawn by the vacuum into the space behind the blade. As soonas each blade 5| passes the air inlet port 60, air is admitted hehindthe blades and destroys the vacuum. However, the vacuum is held ontheoil inlet port 49 due to the fact that the groove 50 in the rotor 21 hasmoved out of register therewith and the topof the rotor 21 has sealedthe port.

After each blade 5| has passed the air inlet port 80, the air in thepump cylinder ahead of the blades together with the oil drawn in duringthe previous stroke, is compressed and discharged through the air andoil outiet port 55. The outlet port 65 discharges into the oil and airseparating chamber 66 which is formed directly in the wall of thecylinder casing 35. The oil passes from the bottom of the separatingchamber 65 into the tank 29 which'surrounds the pump 2| and the airpasses into tank 29 through the restricted opening 61 at the top of theseparating chamber 68.

Air under pressure is exhausted from the upper part of the air and oilequalizing tank 29 through theair outlet passage 68 shown most clearlyin Fig. 4. This outgoing air is supplied 13:) the burner nozzle l2through the air supply pipe .69. The removable connection plug 15 isprovided for permitting the connection of a'suitable' air pressure gauge(not shown) to the air supply pipe 69 when desired. In order to regulatethe pressure of the air in :the tank 29, the adjustable bypass plug 15is mounted in the air bypass passage '76 which extends between the airoutlet 68 and the incoming air surge chamber 53, as shown in Fig. 4. Ifdesired, the adjustment of the bypass plug 15 may be made entirelyautomatic by means of an air 4 pressure regulator arrangement or byother shnilar' regulating means.

Oil is discharged under pressure from the lower part of oil and airpressure equalizing tank 29 through the passage 11 formed in the bottomend plate 25 of the pump, as shown in Fig. 3. This oil outlet passagecommunicates with an oil outlet surge chamber 18 which is formed jointlyby a passage in the wall of the pump casing 35 and a registering passageprovided in the upper pump in plate 24. To release any air bubblesentrapped in the outgoing oil, the top of the outgoing oil surge chamber18 is connected by the restricted bypass passage 19 with the incomingair surge chamber 59. Thus any air bubbles which collect at the top ofchamber 18 are forced through passage '|9 by the oil pressure. Theoutgoing oil free of air bubbles then passes from the surge chamber 18through the passage and the pipe line 8| to the oil burner nozzle l2.

In order to insure clean outgoing oil, the bottom end plate 25 of thepump 2| is provided with the bell-shaped wall 82 extending downwardlytherefrom to provide a subchamber therein adjacent the bottom of tank29. A fine mesh strainer screen 83 is removably mounted in a suitablegroove formed at the mouth of the bellshaped wall 82. This fine meshscreen extends over the entire area of the entrance to the subchamberand is held in position by the snap ring 84.

In order to maintain a substantially constant oil level in the oil andair equalizing tank 29, the oil float 85 is arranged to control the oilby-pass valve mechanism 86 which is mounted upon and forms an integralpart of the end plate 25 of the pump. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the oilbypass valve seat 81 is mounted directly in the end plate 25 so as tocommunicate with the incoming oil surge chamber 48., The valve stem 88is pivotally mounted in the bracket 89 which is carried on the operatingshaft 90. The shaft 98 extends through the opposite sides of thebellshaped wall 82 which extend from the pump end plate 25 and isrotat-ably supported in suitable bearing formed therein. The float 85,as shown,

is of arcuate shape so as to nest into the space shown in"Fig.'3, to theoil parts. Oil passes from the channel 96 a result the increase of theoil level in the tank 29 is checked as the float 85 assumes the positionat which the regulated quantity of oil bypassed is just suflicient tomaintain a substantially constant level of the oil in the tank 29.

For lubricating and sealing purposes oil from the tank 29 is suppliedthrough the passage 95, channel 96 formed by the opposing recesses inthe lower end plate 25 and the bottom of the pump rotor 21. This oilchannel 96 insures an adequate supply of oil to seal the bottom side ofthe rotor 21 and to lubricate the bearings of shaft 23 and other movingthrough the inner portions of the slots in the rotor 21 behind theblades 5| into the oil channel 91 at the top of the rotor 21. As shownmore clearly in Figs. 4 and 5, the oil channel 91 is formed by anarcuate recess or groove extending around the inner periphery of theupper face of each of the two rotor blocks I I5 adjacent the shaft 23.Similar recesses or grooves in the lower face of the blocks form the oilchannel 96. These recesses or grooves in the blocks II 5 serve tointerconnect the two blade grooves between the ends of blocks II5 topermit free passage of oil therebetween as the blades 5| arereciprocated in the blade grooves during operation of the pump. The oilin channel 01 insures adequate lubrication of the upper bearing of shaft23 in the end plate 24 as well as a proper fluid-tight seal of the upperside of the rotor 21 with end plate 24. Any oil which may leak throughthe shaft bearing in the upper end plate 24 is thrown into the oil grove56 by the oil deflecting cone 98. This leakage oil is carried from thegroove 56 along with the incoming air through the restricted air inletpassage 55 shown in Fig. 6.

The stator I of the motor 20 carries the energizing windings, as shownin Fig. 3, and is held in position on top of the upper pump end plate 2dby means of the clamping ring I DI and the clamping bolts I02, as shownin Fig. 7. The stator clamping ring IOI also serves to support thecasing 22 of the blower with a channel shaped annular washer of felt orsimilar resilient material I03 interposed between the grooved edge ofcasing 22 and the supporting ring IN. This annular resilient mountingarrangement permits the blower casing 22 to be rotated freely around thering IOI into proper position to supply air to the furnace I0, as shownin Fig. l, and prevents transmission of noise or vibration from therotating parts to the blower casing. The blower rotor 28 is sec'ured tothe mounting collar I04 which has a suitably shaped opening therein toengage with the flat side of the reduced top portion of the shaft 23,shown in Fig. '7. The fastening bolt I05 serves to secure the blowerrotor 28 fixedly in position on the end of the shaft.23 and at the sametime clamp the rotor 20 of the motor firmly in position against thecollar I06 on shaft 23.

As shown in Fig. 4, the upper rim II 0 of the tank 29 is overturned sothat normally it is of conical tapering form. However, when the clampingring 30 is clamped into position by tightening the nuts 33, the rim IIOof the tank is flexed so as to seal the upper edge of the tank 29 firmlyagainst the washer II I and thereby prevent leakage of air or oil fromthe tank as shown in Fig. 3.

As shown in Fig. 3, the rotor 21 of the pump is formed of twocomplementary parts I I5 which are riveted in position on the shaft 23.As more clearly shown in Fig. 5, the two parts I I5 of the rotor 21 arein the form of arcuate or complementary semi-cylindrical blocks. Theseblocks are held in position on the shaft 23 by means of the rivets II 6which have countersunk heads to provide a smooth exterior surface forthe rotor 21. The ends of the blocks II5 are in spaced apart parallelrelation just suflicient to receive the blades SI of the pump in slidingengagement therebetween.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. Pumping apparatus including a cylindrical tank, a pump mountedeccentrically inside the tank on the top wall thereof for pumping liquidinto the tank, and a liquid by-pass control valve mechanism for the pumphaving a sector-shaped float nested in the space provided between thepump and the tank.

2. A vertical electric motor driven pump having a removable tank for thefluid pumped surrounding the bottom of the pump, a clamping ring havingvertically extending fastening means for securing the tank to the pump,and resilient means mounted on said fastening means for resilientlysupporting the tank and the pump.

3. A vertical electric motor driven pump, a removable tank for the fluidpumped surrounding the bottom of the pump, a clamping ring havingvertically extending fastening studs for securing the tank to the pumpwith screw threaded clamping nuts on the bottom of said studs providedwith resilient springs for resiliently mounting the motor driven pumpand the tank.

4. A pump comprising an annular cylinder casing having guide lugsextending from the opposite sides thereof, a pair of end plates havingmeans for clamping the cylinder casing therebetween, and cooperatingguide pins on one of the end plates operable into abutting slidingengagement with said guide lugs for aligning the cylinder casing betweenthe end plates.

5. A rotary pump comprising a cylinder casing having guide lugsextending from the opposite sides thereof, a shaft having a rotoroperable in the cylinder, a pair of end plates each having a bearing forthe shaft and provided with means for clamping the cylinder casingbetween the end plates, and cooperating guide pins on one of the endplates operable into abutting sliding engagement with said guide lugsfor aligning the rotor in the cylinder.

-6. In a rotary blade pump, the combination of a shaft and a pair ofcomplementary semicylindrical blocks secured on opposite sides of theshaft with the ends thereof in opposing spaced relation to form theblade grooves of the pump rotor and each having a fluid passage formedtherein for interconnecting the blade grooves.

7. Fluid pumping apparatus including a casing having a pumping cylinderand a separate fluid surge chamber formed therein and extending betweenthe ends of the casing, a displacement member operable in the pumpingcylinder, and a pair of end plates for closing the ends of the pumpingcylinder and the fluid surge chamber, one of said plates having apassage for the fluid pumped formed therein to register with said fluidsurge chamber and communicating with the pumping cylinder.

8. Fluid pumping apparatus including a casing having a pumping cylinderand a plurality of separate fluid surge chambers formed therein andextending between the ends of the casing, a displacement member operablein the pumping cylinder, and a pair of end plates for closing the endsof the pumping cylinder'and the fluid surge chambers, each of saidplates having a passage for the fluid pumped formed therein to registerwith a difierent one of said fluid surge chambers and communicating withthe pumping cylinder.

9. A fluid pump including a displacement member and a closed casingtherefor having a pumping cylinder and a plurality of intercommunicatingfluid surge chambers formed therein with a restricted port for the fluidpumped communicating between the pumping cylinder and one of the surgechambers and a restricted passage for the fluid pumped communicatingwith another one of said intercommunicating surge chambers.

10. A fluid pump including a casing having a pumping cylinder and aseparate fluid surge chamber extending between the ends thereof, adisplacement member operable in the pumping cylinder, a pair of endplates for closing the ends of the pumping cylinder and the fluid surgechamber, one of said end plates having a fluid inlet passage formedtherein to register with said fluid surge chamber and communicating withthe pumping cylinder and the other of said end plates having a fluidinlet port formed therein to register with said fluid surge chamber, andvalve mechanism mounted on said other end plate for regulating the flowof fluid through the fluid inlet port formed therein. 1

11. A fluid pump including a casing having a pumping cylinder and aseparate fluid surge chamber extending between the ends of the casing, adisplacement member operable in the pumping cylinder, 9, pair of endplates for closing the ends of the pumping cylinder and the fluid surgechamber, one of said end plates having a fluid inlet passageformedtherein communicat ing with the pumping cylinder and the fluidsurge chamber and the other of said end plates having a passage formedtherein communicating between the outlet of the pump and said fluidsurge chamber, and a by-pass valve mechanism mounted on said other endplate for regulating the flow of fluid through the passage formedtherein.

12. Pumping apparatus including a tank, a pump mounted in the tank forpumping liquid into the tank, said pump having walls extending therefromto form a subchamber inside the tank having an outlet passage for thefluid pumped extending therefrom, a float in the tank, and by-pass valvemechanism for the pump mountedin said subchamber and connected to beoperated by said float for maintaining a substantially constant liquidlevel in the tank.

' WALTER O. LUM.

